Published: Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 1:25 a.m.

COLUMBIA — South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore was unable to attend Saturday's game against Arkansas, but he was still certainly a part of the festivities at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The former Byrnes star received a thunderous ovation during a timeout early in the first quarter when he was honored for his school-record 41 total touchdowns and 38 rushing touchdowns.

Lattimore's name was painted on the wall at Williams-Brice Stadium to honor his accomplishments.

After the ovation quieted down, the former Byrnes star had a message on the video board for the fans.

“Hey Gamecock Country. I just want to take a minute to say thank you very much for all the notes and cards. I appreciate all of your support. I am feeling fine and working to get back to football. To my teammates, I only have one message. … Beat Arkansas! Go Gamecocks!”

In addition to being honored in the first quarter, the Carolina Band ended its halftime show by spelling out “We <3 21.”

USC quarterback Connor Shaw said that it was certainly different not having Lattimore in the game but added that the tributes for him were much deserved.

“I think they did a nice job for Marcus, and the crowd gave a nice standing ovation for him. It's different both physically and emotionally not having him out there, but you know a lot of guys had ‘21' written on them, and D.J. (Swearinger) got a game ball and said that this one is for 21 so that was big as well.”

IMPROVED PASS DEFENSE: South Carolina's pass defense was a topic of discussion entering Saturday's game with Arkansas.

After allowing 381 yards through the air against Tennessee, USC coach Steve Spurrier said he was hoping his secondary would play much better against the Razorbacks.

Carolina shut down the Razorbacks' passing attack in the second half, allowing just 85 yards passing and picking off Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson twice.

USC defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward credited the zone defense for allowing the Gamecocks to have success against the pass.

“At halftime we decided to do something totally different than we did in the first half. Coming into this ball game we played a lot of three deep and we maybe only did two or three plays of that this week. We played a lot of zone coverage,” Ward said.

PRESSURE FROM CLOWNEY: Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was in the backfield constantly against Arkansas. The sophomore hurried Wilson multiple times and finished with one sack. He now has 9.5 for the season and is in third place in school history for sacks in a season.

WINNING WAYS: Carolina now has eight or more wins for the third-straight season for the first time in school history.

USC has won 35 games over the last four seasons, marking the most victories over a four-year stretch in school history.

<p>COLUMBIA — South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore was unable to attend Saturday's game against Arkansas, but he was still certainly a part of the festivities at Williams-Brice Stadium.</p><p>The former Byrnes star received a thunderous ovation during a timeout early in the first quarter when he was honored for his school-record 41 total touchdowns and 38 rushing touchdowns.</p><p>Lattimore's name was painted on the wall at Williams-Brice Stadium to honor his accomplishments.</p><p>After the ovation quieted down, the former Byrnes star had a message on the video board for the fans.</p><p>“Hey Gamecock Country. I just want to take a minute to say thank you very much for all the notes and cards. I appreciate all of your support. I am feeling fine and working to get back to football. To my teammates, I only have one message. … Beat Arkansas! Go Gamecocks!”</p><p>In addition to being honored in the first quarter, the Carolina Band ended its halftime show by spelling out “We <3 21.”</p><p>USC quarterback Connor Shaw said that it was certainly different not having Lattimore in the game but added that the tributes for him were much deserved.</p><p>“I think they did a nice job for Marcus, and the crowd gave a nice standing ovation for him. It's different both physically and emotionally not having him out there, but you know a lot of guys had '21' written on them, and D.J. (Swearinger) got a game ball and said that this one is for 21 so that was big as well.”</p><p><b>IMPROVED PASS DEFENSE: </b>South Carolina's pass defense was a topic of discussion entering Saturday's game with Arkansas.</p><p>After allowing 381 yards through the air against Tennessee, USC coach Steve Spurrier said he was hoping his secondary would play much better against the Razorbacks.</p><p>While the Gamecocks did allow 277 yards passing, Spurrier certainly got his wish in USC's 38-20 win.</p><p>Carolina shut down the Razorbacks' passing attack in the second half, allowing just 85 yards passing and picking off Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson twice.</p><p>USC defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward credited the zone defense for allowing the Gamecocks to have success against the pass.</p><p>“At halftime we decided to do something totally different than we did in the first half. Coming into this ball game we played a lot of three deep and we maybe only did two or three plays of that this week. We played a lot of zone coverage,” Ward said.</p><p><b>PRESSURE FROM CLOWNEY: </b>Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was in the backfield constantly against Arkansas. The sophomore hurried Wilson multiple times and finished with one sack. He now has 9.5 for the season and is in third place in school history for sacks in a season.</p><p><b>WINNING WAYS: </b>Carolina now has eight or more wins for the third-straight season for the first time in school history.</p><p>USC has won 35 games over the last four seasons, marking the most victories over a four-year stretch in school history.</p>